SMILING FACE: Bobby Brill, author of Nanjing--Life on the Water's Edge, attends the book launch ceremony in Beijing on July 14 (CHEN RAN)

The Chinese- and English-language Cities of China series was recently launched by Beijing-based Foreign Languages Press.

The first three books, Nanjing--Life on the Water's Edge by American media professional Bobby Brill, The Kunshan Way by American business expert Einar Tangen, and Wuxi--Where Ancient Culture Meets Contemporary Life by 10 photographers at home and abroad, were launched in Beijing on July 14.

With the idea of "one city, one book, learning China through cities," the series, initiated in September 2009, combines the expat's perspective and writing style with firsthand local life experiences and overviews of each city's history, economy, culture and society, said Huang Youyi, Deputy President of China International Publishing Group (CIPG), the parent company of Foreign Languages Press.

Bobby Brill, author of Nanjing--Life on the Water's Edge, first visited China in 2003 for a documentary project, and now focuses on unique personal stories of people he encounters in China.

"The book is a taste of Nanjing and a taste of China. What you see is just the tip of the iceberg. There's so much more to explore," Brill said. "It will give you inspiration to spend twice as much time here as you imagine and really experience everything."

According to Hu Baomin, President of Foreign Languages Press, books on Nantong, Qingdao, Taizhou and Hangzhou are under consideration.

"Our goal is to publish 20 to 30 books in this series in the next three years," Hu said.